In today's data-driven business landscape, investing in the right enterprise search software is a critical decision. As the central hub for knowledge management, enterprise search has evolved far beyond simple keyword matching. In 2024, the focus is on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to power conversational search and generative AI features that create concise summaries of complex information. This article explores six essential features to look for when choosing enterprise search software.

1.- Conversational search: Enterprise search has become a truly conversational experience. By understanding the intent behind keywords, conversational search ensures that your queries are always understood. Imagine the efficiency of simply asking, "Give me all the documents related to sales in Q4 2024." An intelligent search engine understands your intent and surfaces relevant reports, presentations, and even email threads, even if they don't explicitly use those terms. Say goodbye to data indexing and keyword matching; look for an enterprise search solution that understands your internal database and provides the most suitable results.

2.- Generative AI: When integrated with enterprise search, holds immense potential. By generating text, translating languages, creating summaries, and answering questions informatively, generative AI can save time on mundane tasks. Imagine having a personal assistant familiar with your company data, answering commands like "What are the average sales for April in the past four years?" This frees up employees to focus on strategic and creative work while uncovering new insights and patterns from the data.

3.- Seamless integration with business tools A truly effective enterprise search solution must look across all the tools your team uses, whether it's an email, project board, chat message, or document. Essential integrations include:

• Email clients (Gmail, Outlook)
• Cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox)
• Task/project management tools (Asana, Jira, Trello)
• CRM platforms (Salesforce)
• Communication apps (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord)
• Marketing automation platforms (Hubspot, Marketo, Mailchimp)
• Analytics tools (Google Analytics)

A unified search experience saves time and allows employees to focus on their core tasks.

4.- Robust security measures: When handling sensitive business data, security is a top priority. Look for enterprise search software that respects existing security protocols and safeguards data at every stage. Key security features include:

• Strong encryption methods (AES-256 for data at rest, TLS 1.3 for data in transit)
• Certifications like SOC2 Type II, demonstrating a commitment to secure data handling
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure users only see search results they're allowed to access
• Clear reports and logs for tracking search activity

5.- Intuitive user experience: Enterprise search aims to make work easier and quicker, so it must be intuitive and accessible. Beyond conversational search powered by natural language processing (NLP), look for software with:

• An intuitive interface
• Proactive suggestions
• The ability to handle large data volumes and high user traffic without lagging

Smart enterprise search platforms recognize the importance of user interface (UI) and provide pre-built components, customization tools, and seamless integration to create a user-friendly search experience that boosts team efficiency.

6.- Personalized results: through machine learning-powered enterprise search engines can track user behavior, creating rich profiles of work habits. This allows the search engine to rank results that align with the user's interests, project involvement, and frequently used resources. By uncovering connections between data, the search engine can suggest unexpectedly helpful documents, contacts, or past projects. The goal is for each employee to experience search as if it understood their unique work context.

The ideal enterprise search software in 2024 should enable employees to ask any question and get any answer from any data source using natural language queries. Search results should be enriched with analysis and context, revealing deeper connections and answers. By creating a completely connected environment that allows for easy access and utilization of data, tools, and teams, the right enterprise search solution can revolutionize the way your organization works.

When evaluating enterprise search software, prioritize conversational search, generative AI, seamless integration, robust security, intuitive user experience, and personalized results to unlock the full potential of your company's collective knowledge.

Medullar, a cutting-edge enterprise search solution, offers all these essential features and more. With Medullar, you can search once and find everything across your everyday platforms in real-time, wherever it is stored, using one universal search tool. As a personalized "Knowledge Discovery Assistant" for everyone on your team, Medullar works right in the browser you already use, such as Chrome, Edge, or DuckDuckGo. Unlike conventional enterprise search tools that must constantly synchronize and re-index data, Medullar allows you to search your data in real-time, right where it is stored in the cloud. By leveraging the power of AI, generative AI, seamless integrations, robust security, intuitive UI, and personalized results, Medullar empowers your organization to move your eyes, not your data, and unlock the full potential of your collective knowledge.